Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia) is a landlocked, fertile and mineral rich country on the Southern African plateau. It is bordered by eight nations. Zambia joined the Commonwealth in 1964.

Zambia at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Zambia finished in a tie for thirty-third at Glasgow 2026, the first Commonwealth Games staged with a reduced program of 10 sports. Zambia won 2 bronze medals, level on the medal table with Lesotho and Nauru.

Both medals came in the boxing ring. Catherine Mwape took bronze in the women's 54kg to become the first Zambian female boxer to win a Commonwealth Games medal, while Emmanuel Katema added bronze in the men's 65kg. The final medal standings, with Zambia's placing, are shown below.

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Australia 70 45 56 171
2 England 29 45 36 110
3 Canada 19 20 23 62
4 India 13 17 9 39
5 Scotland 13 9 17 39
6 New Zealand 10 14 12 36
7 Nigeria 10 7 7 24
8 Jamaica 10 4 5 19
9 Wales 9 10 12 31
10 Malaysia 8 3 5 16
11 South Africa 7 11 10 28
12 Northern Ireland 3 4 9 16
13 Kenya 3 4 5 12
14 Cyprus 1 5 6 12
15 Mauritius 1 2 1 4
16 Cameroon 1 1 3 5
17 Jersey 1 1 0 2
17 Samoa 1 1 0 2
17 Sri Lanka 1 1 0 2
20 Fiji 1 0 1 2
20 Isle of Man 1 0 1 2
20 Bahamas 1 0 1 2
23 British Virgin Islands 1 0 0 1
23 Dominica 1 0 0 1
23 Grenada 1 0 0 1
26 Trinidad and Tobago 0 3 4 7
27 Uganda 0 2 1 3
28 Singapore 0 2 0 2
29 Namibia 0 1 2 3
30 Ghana 0 1 1 2
31 Barbados 0 1 0 1
31 Guernsey 0 1 0 1
33 Lesotho 0 0 2 2
33 Nauru 0 0 2 2
33 Zambia 0 0 2 2

Trivia

  • Zambia made its debut at the Commonwealth Games in 1954, competing under the name Northern Rhodesia.
  • In 1953, the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland grouped together Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Nyasaland (now Malawi) as a single semi-autonomous region. A team from Rhodesia and Nyasaland attended the 1962 Commonwealth Games.
  • Under the name Zambia, they have competed at every Games since 1972 except the 1986 Games in Edinburgh.
  • The first gold medal for Zambia came in 1974 when Lotti Mwale won the men's light middleweight division in the boxing competition.